(Warning: This piece features a few actors who are now available to play new roles because their characters died on other shows. So if you're not caught up on Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, or Game of Thrones, turn back...)
Now that the news of a Preacher series headed to AMC (under the watchful eye of Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Breaking Bad producer Sam Catlin) is official, we can officially begin to make asses of ourselves with a phantom casting feature.
And what a show to try and cast! The different mixtures of genres and tonality alone is enough to drive you mad. Angels, demons, vampires, Nazis, cannibals - all done with a knowing wink under the guise of a modern-day western. On one side, you've got an ex-preacher/John Wayne-idolizor who is mysteriously gifted with the powers of God, and on the other you have a raspy, scarred, perverted human Wile E. Coyote bent on world domination. And in the middle are murders, maulings, and mayhem. Some of it's played totally straight and some of it...well, not so much. Because with each of these roles comes a heaping spoonful of running gags and gallows humor.
Jesse, Tulip, Cassidy, Saint of Killers, and Herr Starr.
So who should play Jesse Custer? His tank-topped, gun-toting girlfriend, Tulip? His vampire BFF (emphasis on the "forever"), Cassidy? The maniacal and injury prone Herr Starr? Or the most "Unforgiven-est" shootist of all time, The Saint of Killers? Let's step inside the madhouse...
Now before we even entertain the idea of someone else playing the lead role, Jesse Custer, it has to be said that two perfect specimens (for the role, and for men in general) already exist. And while the news of FX's Justified ending after 2015's Season 6 is mostly a bummer, it does free up Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins. Both of whom would be mesmerizing in the role (while also offering up totally different takes).
Suave-off!
But if we can't get either of those fine gentlemen, or even have them dual-play the role "Dr. Parnassus"-style, here's a few more names to consider...
Richard Madden may have been unsuccessful in his attempt to rid the world of Lannisters on Game of Thrones, but his recent role as an American adventurer during the Gold Rush in Discovery's Klondike puts him in the running. And digging into the AMC family, James Badge Dale, from Rubicon (also seen in Iron Man 3), would be excellent. As would Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead, who just oozes "badass" with every step.
Now Reedus is still on The Walking Dead. He hasn't been killed off...yet. And if ever was to die on that show, the heat from the fans would be nuclear. However, shifting him directly into Jesse Custer could help cushion the blow.
Where Does Jesse Custer Rank on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes List?
Every hero needs a sexy, rough-and-tumble, expert marksman as his lady friend. And Tulip O'Hare is one formidable lass. And since I've already found myself desperately lost inside a dream of either Olyphant or Goggins playing Jesse...why not have their on-screen ladies make a play for Tulip? Because Amy Smart and Joelle Carter - either one - would make a fine Tulip. As would Alcatraz' Sarah Jones (last seen on CBS' Vegas). And if they decide to go mid-20s with Tulip, might I suggest Nikita's Lyndsey Fonseca, who can more than hold her own with a firearm (or three).
Adding even more of a roguish presence to the already bats*** proceedings is Cassidy, Jesse and Tulip's boozing, doping Irish vampire buddy. A role that requires an anarchic presence to embody the "undead prince of bad decision making." And so here we've got two great Irish actors who've actually played vampires before and would fit the bill nicely. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers would be fresh off NBC's Dracula (which most likely ain't coming back), and Townsend would be coming down from Betrayal's cancellation (having played Lestat back in 2002's Queen of the Damned). Jamie Bell, an Englishman, would amazing in the role if he already hadn't become the lead in AMC's new Revolutionary War spy drama, Turn. That being said, if things don't work out for Turn, Bell's found his next AMC role.
So you need someone to play the Patron Saint of Murderers and Assassination, ay?
Gonna go out on a limb here and say that nabbing Clint Eastwood for this role would be a long shot.
But even though The Saint of Killers was most definitely modeled after Eastwood's William Munny, there are a number of other grizzled, leathery stars to consider. In fact, I think a ton of folks might even think Sam Elliot as SOK would be better than Clint. And by "ton of folks," I mean me. Because Sam Elliott IS the Wild West. The epitome of the stoic, somber gunfighter. Scott Glenn would also make a mighty imposing Saint. My wild card pick here though is Tom Noonan, who you may have recently seen on The Blacklist as the terrifying "Stewmaker." In fact, psychos are kind of Noonan's specialty, having played deranged lunatics in Last Action Hero, Manhunter, and a very memorable X-Files ("Paper Hearts"). And you might have also seen him on the AMC western series, Hell on Wheels, as Reverend Cole.
Okay, here's (probably) the trickiest casting of the whole series. How does one even begin to describe Herr Starr much less figure out the perfect dude to play him? He's sadistic and demented, sure, but there's also a very comic tint to him. And in the Garth Ennis comic series, he's played for laughs more than any other character. He's not even so much a man as he is a punching bag - a collection of injuries and deformities collected over years of physical and emotional abuse.
So someone is going to have to bury themselves deep into this insanity. And since Jack Huston was able to morph himself from the smooth-looking man above into the gravel-throated, half-faced Richard Harrow on Boardwalk Empire, we know he's good to go when it comes to investing in a role and dropping all sense of attractiveness and ego.
Likewise, fellow Brit Damian Lewis (as Starr is English), went through more pain and anguish over on Homeland than we've ever seen from a TV character. He was that show's punching bag. Now the big question here would be the comedy element, but I figured that these two were fantastic enough actors to pull it off.
So who do you guys think should play these roles? Use the boards, y'all.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/Showrenity.
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